Notre Dame, 2022-'23 Season | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Notre Dame, 2022-'23 Season

Iluvacc2 said:
Since Muffet’s retirement, Jewell has been more receptive to all things Irish. Glad to see her back in the fold.

Dillon, how do you pronounce Prosper’s first name? Initially I thought it was pronounced “Cass Sandra”, however during the BC game, I heard Antonelli say “Cassand”.
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I've actually heard it as "Cassan." If she continues to play the way she has (9 rebounds in her 2nd game in 10 minutes), we'll hear the preferred usage and correct pronunciation often enough!
 
Dillon77 said:
I've actually heard it as "Cassan." If she continues to play the way she has (9 rebounds in her 2nd game in 10 minutes), we'll hear the preferred usage and correct pronunciation often enough!
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To piggy-back on this, her name is spelt Cassandre which is the French version of Cassandra. French/Quebecois pronunciation would be "Cassan-dre" instead of "Cassan-dra" because you have to roll the 'r'. This could be why some think they're hearing "Cassand".
 
cancontent said:
To piggy-back on this, her name is spelt Cassandre which is the French version of Cassandra. French/Quebecois pronunciation would be "Cassan-dre" instead of "Cassan-dra" because you have to roll the 'r'. This could be why some think they're hearing "Cassand".
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Thanks! The boneyard is a magical place where you can find basketball knowledge and diction lessons ;)
 


Consistency is something that coaches, teammates and fans can all appreciate. ND's Sonia Citron can, indeed, be depended on to hold up her share of the scoring for the Irish, averaging 14.9 ppg, just behind Olivia Miles 15.2 ppg. One reason for that is her uniformly excellent shooting: 54% from the overall field; 44% from three-pt. land; and, 88% from the FT line.

BTW, I made note on another thread that Stanford has three scorers within. .3 of each other. ND's 3rd, 4th and 5th leading scorers all average 10-pt. something per game: Dara Mabey - 10.7 ppg; Lauren Ebo - 10.6 ppg; and, Maddy Westbeld - 10.3 ppg.

Next up for Citron, Miles et al: at North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 8th at 4 p.m. EST.
 
Irish looking very much like a Final 4 contender right now .
 
Yall had ONE JOB TO DO TODAY... ONE JOB TO MAKE THIS A PERFECT DAY


irish.jpeg


WFFL said:
WFFL said:
Irish looking very much like a Final 4 contender right now .
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Not today they didn't
 
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I watched the Notre Dame vs UNC game last night (recorded). One of the sloppiest, hard to watch games I've seen of any TOP 25 ranked teams in a long time. And I'm not attributing it to great defense. Lots of bricks, missed lay-ins, horrible passes. Was hard to watch. I think every team has one of those games in a season. But neither team was up to their ranking in this game.
 
LoTrader said:
I watched the Notre Dame vs UNC game last night (recorded). One of the sloppiest, hard to watch games I've seen of any TOP 25 ranked teams in a long time. And I'm not attributing it to great defense. Lots of bricks, missed lay-ins, horrible passes. Was hard to watch. I think every team has one of those games in a season. But neither team was up to their ranking in this game.
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Absolutely not a good game.
One often reads that good shooting is at the heart of a good game. Well, the Irish shot under 30% in the game. Although UNC's match-up zone was a nuisance in the second half, ND missed so many chippies I just lost count.

ND had a week to rest/prepare for this game. Would've been better off playing a game on Thursday. Luckily, they're back at it shortly: at home Thursday against Wake Forest; then off to Syracuse on Sunday.
 
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Not surprisingly, ND beat up on Wake Forest at home, 86-47. Tough match-up for the Deacs: Irish were primed and ready to roll after worst game of the year against UNC; and, match-ups were not in Wake's favor (see below).


- 6'3" Maddy Westbeld led the Irish with 25 points and didn't play most of the 4th quarter. Westbeld was hot (10-15 overall, 2-5 from three), but she was also in a position to be hot because Wake plays one forward and four guards and thos guards are all under 6' tall, so Westbeld was a good option. As was 6'2" frosh Cassandre Prosper later on: the two had the highest shot totals on the team. BTW, Prosper also went 2-5 from three-pt. land.

- Sonia Citron's double-figure streak ends. When you only take 4 shots from the field and only go to the line on "and one's," it's a tough road to 10. However, she had a team high +/- of 31, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.
Elmer, indeed.

- Steady 21 minutes from frosh KK Bransford, scoring 9 points (on 5 shots), grabbing 4 rebounds and having a +/- of 30, right behind Citron.

- Irish go on the road Sunday to play Syracuse at 2 pm. The Orange beat BC (in Boston) 83-73, with five in double figures.

 
I am so looking forward to attending the ND/Virginia game on the 22nd!!
 
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ND Places Two on 2023 McDonald's All-American Squad

Point guard Hannah Hidalgo and shooting guard Emma Risch were both selected to take part in the 2023 McDonald's All-American game in Houston, Texas. Here are write-ups by Shane Laflin that he posted for ESPNw.

Hannah Hidalgo, PG​

Signed with: Notre Dame | 2023 espnw 100 ranking: 5
Paul VI HS (New Jersey)

If there is something on the basketball court worth competing for, count Hidalgo in. Once inside the lines for the tip, she is all go, all the time. End-to-end, Hidalgo may be the fastest guard in the country and she is almost impossible to guard off the dribble with single coverage. Between her sophomore and junior year, she really went to work on her perimeter shooting and now that she is a legitimate threat from downtown, she is essentially an impossible cover 1-on-1. She finishes well against contact, has a package of floater options, and can get hot from the 3. Defensively, the opposing point guard will feel the heat of constant pressure. Hidalgo is a gold medalist from the U17 at the FIBA World Cup in 2022.

Emma Risch, G​

Signed with: Notre Dame | 2023 espnw 100 ranking: 20
Palm Bay Magnet HS (Florida)

Notre Dame is getting a knock-down shooter. Risch is known to catch fire from the 3-point line and has had multiple games this year of five-plus 3-point makes. Risch has a great feel for the game which allows her to know the finer details of reading screens and timing of when to relocate to get open opportunities. It is to her advantage that as a major focus of the defense, she can use that gravity to pull and manipulate defenders as she creates for teammates. She is a big guard (6-1) with a crafty handle that complements her shooting with a touch for floaters and finishing in the paint. Risch is averaging 24 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game this season.

Here are write-ups on all the other selectees. Congrats to the future Irish and all the players!

www.espn.com

Breaking down the 2023 McDonald's All American girls' basketball recruits

A look at the 24 McDonald's All Americans and what makes each one a top women's college basketball recruit.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

​

 
ND PLAYS TOUGH DEFENSE AND COMES ALIVE OFFENSIVELY IN 2ND HALF; BEATS FSU 70-47

A few notes:
- Irish had 55 Rebounds. Wow! Kelly Gramlich -- in the ACC wrap-up show that happened to being playing once I finished watching the ND game -- noted the Irish are out-rebounding teams by 12-13 per game. Up from last year's +4. Big difference.

- Irish held FSU to 47points. And Ta'Niya Latson to under 10 for the first time all season, largely using box and one and a very aggressive match-up zone. ND is holding ACC opponents to 53 ppg.

While shooting 3's can be a critical element to beating a zone, FSU shot 5-25, which hardly helped the cause. . Sara Bejedi (1-8) was hoisting from the logo a few times.

- Took took awhile for the offense to get going to 1) Figure out how to function with no Dara Mabrey ; 2) Deal with FSU's defense; and 3) Get/hit shots. But they did. KK Bradford did so a lot by herself in the first half; and then Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron got going in the third/early 4th quarter.

- Citron continued her brand of high-level efficiency, pretty much staying on her 50% from the field overall, 40%+ with three pointers and mid-80% FT shooting. (the one she missed was after she got whacked in the eye). She finished with a game-high 19 points.

- Grammlich and Muffet McGraw both think Sonia Citron will become the back-up point guard if and when Miles is in foul trouble. If that's true, Citron will play even more than the nearly 35 minutes she put in today. Jenna Brown spelled Miles in the first half, but Citron took over in the 2nd half.

- Early enrollee Cassandre Prosper obviously couldn't buy a basket (0-9 from the floor), but in some 17 minutes she had 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block and a lotta length up top on the zone.

Doesn't get any easier for the Irish in that their next game is at NC State on Sunday.

 
I am creating data for the Conference POY contenders and I will reiterate on this thread that Olivia Miles has put together both an ACC POY resume but also strong consideration for All-American 1st team consideration. The only guard playing better than Ms. Miles is Caitlin Clark. By any metric, Olivia is having an outstanding season. The only detriment to her is her 3 pt shooting. She scores, drives, mid-range, rebounds, passes, steal and has that MM attitude to plays well in South Bend (and not so well elsewhere :rolleyes:).

To me, she is the front runner for ACC POY as her team is tied for 1st place. Kitley, the reigning ACC POY is having a very good year as well but VPI is contending for 4th and the double bye.

Yes, I know that some others (cough-cough Duke fan) may think Celeste Taylor or the dreaded Deja Kelly deserve consideration, and they do-just consideration, as their stats pale in comparison to both Miles and Kitley's.

You're welcome @Dillon77
 
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CONNCAN said:
As great as Olivia Miles is, Notre Dame would not be anywhere close to where they current are, this season, without Sonia Citron.
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Someone on the weekly ACC Women's Basketball Wrap-Up Show referred to Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron as "Batman and Robin." Miles makes Citron better, Citron makes Miles better and they both make their teammates better. Citron is just an all-round superb baller.
 
ND Loses to NC State, 69-65

  • ND started off behind the 8-ball when Lauren Ebo didn't suit up and was in a walking boot on the sidelines. This probably happened in practice in N. Carolina; otherwise, she wouldn't have made the trip. KK Bransford, the freshman guard, gets the start.
  • While ND got off to a good start with a 20-15 first quarter, they laid an egg in the 2nd quarter, 19-9. And NC State jumped to a 16-pt. lead when Coach Ivey got a bit desperate and put in a press with 6'5" Nat Marshall, 6'3" Maddy Westbeld, 6'2" Cass Prosper, 6'1" Sonia Citron and 5'11" Olivia Miles. Over the course of the end of the 3rd quarter and most certainly the fourth brought the lead down and the Irish had a chance right up to the 30-second mark,
  • NC State packed in their zone, knowing Ebo wasn't there to keep dribble drives from Miles and the ND guards; and dared Bransford and others to beat them from outside. Until the 4th quarter, ND was cold and only a few by Prosper and Westbeld in the fourth brought that to 6-23. This was the "what, No Mabrey?" strategy. Let's clamp on Citron and Miles.
  • While Miles and Citron had 13 and 11, respectively, neither shot well (Citron was an uncharacteristic 3-12_ and both had 5 turnovers. Moore had his guards get right in their faces.
  • As a result, Maddy Westbeld led the charge against the Wolfpack again, finishing with 19 pts., 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Best player on the floor for the Irish.
  • ND also got solid play off the bench by Cassan Prosper, who hit 2-4 from 3 en route to 11 pts. Excellent work on the press, but had a tough time covering Diamond Johnson, a normally tough assignment but even more so when you're facing her for the first time in your college career. Nat Marshall played energetically in a short run o the press.
  • Johnson can either shoot the Wolfpack to a lead or out of a game. Today, she hit clutch shots in the fourth to hold off the Irish charge and finished with a game-high 20 points on 4-9 three-pt. shooting. When she's on, she's great.
  • Thought Mimi Collins hurt the Irish, too, with 6-8 shooting.
Congrats to the Wolfpack for getting a solid at-home win against a Top 10 opponent. The silver lining for the Irish was seeing Prosper and Nat Marshall play well in the press and watching Maddy Westbeld be a big-time player you can lean on when the super sophs have a tough(er) day.

Now, the Irish need to see what's up with Ebo. Is it a serious injury or something shorter? Irish probably won't have her for the BC game (at Chestnut Hill) and Duke comes to South Bend next Sunday. Will probably see more of Nat Marshall working in conjunction with Kylee Watson. Stay tuned.
 
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Dillon77 said:
ND Loses to NC State, 69-65

  • ND started off behind the 8-ball when Lauren Ebo didn't suit up and was in a walking boot on the sidelines. This probably happened in practice in N. Carolina; otherwise, she wouldn't have made the trip. KK Bransford, the freshman guard, gets the start.
  • While ND got off to a good start with a 20-15 first quarter, they laid an egg in the 2nd quarter, 19-9. And NC State jumped to a 16-pt. lead when Coach Ivey got a bit desperate and put in a press with 6'5" Nat Marshall, 6'3" Maddy Westbeld, 6'2" Cass Prosper, 6'1" Sonia Citron and 5'11" Olivia Miles. Over the course of the end of the 3rd quarter and most certainly the fourth brought the lead down and the Irish had a chance right up to the 30-second mark,
  • NC State packed in their zone, knowing Ebo wasn't there to keep dribble drives from Miles and the ND guards; and dared Bransford and others to beat them from outside. Until the 4th quarter, ND was cold and only a few by Prosper and Westbeld in the fourth brought that to 6-23. This was the "what, No Mabrey?" strategy. Let's clamp on Citron and Miles.
  • While Miles and Citron had 13 and 11, respectively, neither shot well (Citron was an uncharacteristic 3-12_ and both had 5 turnovers. Moore has his guards get right in their faces.
  • As a result, Maddy Westbeld led the charge against the Wolfpack again, finishing with 19 pts., 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Best player on the floor for the Irish.
  • ND also got solid play off the bench by Cassan Prosper, who hit 2-4 from 3 en route to 11 pts. Excellent work on the press, but had a tough time covering Diamond Johnson, a normally tough assignment but even more so when you're facing her for the first time in your college career.
  • Johnson can either shoot the Wolfpack to a lead or out of a game. Today, she hit clutch shots in the fourth to hold off the Irish charge and finished with a game-high 20 points on 4-9 three-pt. shooting.
  • Thought Mimi Collins hurt the Irish, too, with 6-8 shooting.

Now, let's see what's up with Ebo. Is it a serious injury or something shorter? Irish probably won't have her for the BC game (at Chestnut Hill). Duke comes to South Bend next Sunday.
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Nice analysis…I think there has to be an emotional hangover from the Maybrey injury as well. It might take a few games to get used to the ‘new normal’.
 
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ND is still oin control of their ACC destiny with only 1 real test of Duke on the schedule and 2 quasi interesting games against a struggling Louisville team.

What I think none of us on this forum want to see or hear is “poor shorthanded” ND and any travails about injuries as, you know, we own that narrative and are not complaining.
 
I didn't watch the game but ND is still the better team even without Ebo and Mabrey.

ND has played 3 challenging road games this season, all conference games, and has lost 2 of the 3 games. Niele needs to beef up the non-conference schedule.
 
UConnCat said:
I didn't watch the game but ND is still the better team even without Ebo and Mabrey.

ND has played 3 challenging road games this season, all conference games, and has lost 2 of the 3 games. Niele needs to beef up the non-conference schedule.
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I would love to see a better Non-Conf next season. And hopefully some more transfers from the portal as well as the incoming freshman. 12 players on the roster minimum. I don't like this shortened roster. I feel for UConn fans
 
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Reypl21 said:
I would love to see a better Non-Conf next season. And hopefully some more transfers from the portal as well as the incoming freshman. 12 players on the roster minimum. I don't like this shortened roster. I feel for UConn fans
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I only speak for myself, but I don't need or want anyone feeling for me (as a UConn fan), This has been a very enjoyable team to watch and root for. Yes, I would rather they have everyone healthy and steam roll to 40 point plus wins. But having the ability to watch the current available players give it their all night after night is a treat.
 
Reypl21 said:
I would love to see a better Non-Conf next season. And hopefully some more transfers from the portal as well as the incoming freshman. 12 players on the roster minimum. I don't like this shortened roster. I feel for UConn fans
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- Think you will see a tougher OOC schedule than last year. ND's Turkey Day tournaments were not tough match-ups, either.

- ND has two other freshmen coming in to join Cassandre Prosper next year in Hannah Hildalgo and Emma Risch. With Mabrey and Lauren Ebo leaving, that will give the Irish 9 or 10 scholarship players, depending on if Jenna Brown sticks around for a possible second year.

Ivey is on record on saying she likes smaller rosters (10), so players can get a shot on the floor.

- If there's any movement on the portal, I think it might be for a center to bridge the gap until 2024, where a post is a focus.
If Brown doesn't come back, maybe another guard, but not a point guard (Hidalgo can do that). Perhaps another long-range bomber?
 
ND Defeats Boston College at Chestnut Hill, 72-59

ND was nip and tuck with the Eagles mid-way through the 3rd quarter when the Irish scored 10 straight points; driven primarily by -- who else -- the "dynamic duo" (ACC commentators' words, not mine) of Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, who finished with 22 and 23 points, respectively. Add in KK Bransford's 10 points and the Irish backcourt scored 55 of ND's 72 points.

A few points to add, which are based while I was scanning the score sheet and listening to ACC Network's "Nothing But Net," which came up on the ACC Network right after Ga. Tech's victory over NC State was completed.

Some Observations on Citron's performance:

- Muffet McGraw thought that "a word was had" with Citron to step up the shooting, in lieu of Dara Mabrey's season-ending injury and subsequent absence. As Kelly Gramlich noted, prior to this injury, Citron was content to take 8 shots a game and not force the issue.
Last night, she took 18, hitting 10 (3 of 6 from three).

That, I believe, will have to continue because Citron is now not only being herself, but taking on the long-range shooting role. Only Miles hit another three for Notre Dame.

- Gramlich is a huge Miles fan (she thinks she's the female equivalent of Magic Johnson), and says ND players have to be ready for her at all times. Gramlich also noted, the one player who is always ready is Citron, because those two are on a similar wavelength.

- And MM noted that what makes Soni even more impressive is ND doesn't really run any plays for her. "It's all based on her movement" and understanding of where to go. To me (Dillon), that's a basic "beat the zone principle": go where they ain't.

- BC, as we know, is a tough place for the Irish, having lost three straight times there before last night. Even before that streak, the games were never pretty. Still Miles had her moments and Citron was exceptional from the field, particularly in the second half.

- In post-game interview, Citron noted two key points:
-- Irish needed to concentrate on defense , because it allows the irish to rebound and ignite the fast break that Miles directs very well
-- The outside shooting opened up because of "inside-out" movement and passing. Bingo -- Another key tenet of busting a zone.

Irish are at home Sunday at 1 p.m. to face Duke.
 
It’s hard to assess Notre Dame right now due to the adjustment of playing without two inside/outside veterans in Mabrey and Ebo. It’s hard enough to change two players personnel wise from an offensive flow perspective, but without Ebo Notre Dame has very little physical presence and toughness inside. As a result, the Irish offense is flailing, hoping that outside one on one talent will overcome no inside/outside game.

The most baffling thing is the amount of playing time Prosper is getting. Although a player with tons of potential, she isn’t near ready to be given the offensive reins that Ivey has given her. This is all coming at the expense of Marshall’s development and is doing nothing to plug the inside weakness that the Irish have without Ebo.

One can only hope that Ebo’s injury is temporary. ND is a very different team with her strength and power inside.
 
ND, with only 6 points in the 4th quarter, goes down to Duke in a home game, 57-52.
 
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